Bread-slicer.



PATENTED NOV. 5, 1907.

H.- FRANK.

BREAD SLICER.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 14, 1907.

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BREAD-SLICER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 5, 1907- Application filed February 14, 1907- Serial No. 357,284.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY FRANK, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Lickingville, in the county of Clarion and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and Improved Bread-Slicer, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to bread slicers, and is especially useful in hotels, restaurants and similar places where bread is sliced in large quantities.

The object of the invention is to produce a device of this class which is simple in construction and which can be rapidly operated to slice the bread, the con struction beingsuch as to enable the thickness of the slices to be adjusted at will.

The invention consists in the construction and com bination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective of the device, a portion of the same being broken away; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the device; and Fig. 3 is a cross section through the table near the knife and illustrating especially the construction of the gage for determining the thickness of the slices.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents a post which may be set upon the floor or attached to the wall. To this post there is attached a table or shelf 2, and in this table there is provided a transverse slit 3 which slit constitutes a guide for a knife 4. This knife simply consists of a blade, the edge 5 whereof is sharpened, and this blade is pivotally attached at its extremities to arms 6 and 7, said arms being attached pivotally at 8 and 9 to the aforesaid post. The upper arm is extended as shown in Fig. 1, and provided with a handle 10 which facilitates the swinging of the knife in a vertical plane.

On the upper side of the table, I provide a guide frame 11 which consists of a horizontal bar 12, one end of which is connected to the post 1 above the table; the other end being supported upon a suitable standard 13. The forward edge of this frame is in alinement with the slit 3 through which the knife passes. Parallel with the slit 3 and near the standard 13, a slot 14 is formed in the table, and in this slot there is located a gage plate 15. The lower edge of this gage plate is supported upon an arm 16, which arm is pivotally attached at 17 to a bracket 18 which is attached to the post 1, as indicated.

Between the table 2 and the upper side of the arm 16 a leaf spring 19 is arranged, which tends to force the arm downwardly. In the gage plate 15 near the lower portion thereof, adjusting screws 20 are swiveled, and these adjusting screws are threaded and passed through the gage arm, as indicated in Fig. 2. From this arrangement it should be understood that by screwing up or unscrewing the adjusting screws 20, the position of the gage plate can be changed as desired, within the limits of the width of the slot 14.

To the under side of the table adjacent to the gage plate a guide bracket 21 is attached, which presents a downwardly projecting flange 22, as shown in Fig. 3. This flange 22 is adapted to rest against the side of the gage arm so as to guide the arm in a swinging movement which it may have by reason of the mode of operation presently to be described. understood that the spring 19 normally holds the gage arm 16 in a depressed position such as that shown in Fig. 2. At this time the gage plate is withdrawn downwardly through the slot 14.

To the side of the standard 13 a stop 23 is pivotally attached at 24, and the upper edge of this stop may be projected into the path of the arm 6 so as to limit its downward movement, as will be readily understood, and as illustrated in Fig. 1.

On the side of the arm 7 a dog 25 is attached, as shown in Fig. 2, and this dog has a beveled outer end face 26. The end of the arm 7 is provided with a similar beveled face 27.

In operating the device, the blade is moved to an elevated position by elevating the handle 10 in the manner indicated in Fig. 1. As the blade moves upwardly, the arms 6 and 7- are also raised and maintained in parallelism. As the arm 7 approaches its most elevated position, the face 26 of the dog 25 engages with the under side of the gage arm 16, as indi-' cated in Fig. 3, so that the gage plate 15 isforced upwardly through the slot 14. The loaf of bread indicated at 28 is then pushed through the frame 11 and held against the inner face of the standard 13. The loaf is advanced until its end strikes the gage plate 15, whereupon the knife is moved down by means of the handle so that it passes throiigh the loaf and cuts off a slice. As the arm 7 descends, the spring 19 returns the gage arm 16 to its normal depressed position, so that the gage plate 15 descends below the surface of the table. Then, as soon as the knife is withdrawn from the end of the loaf by an upward movement of the handle, the loaf may be advanced so as to push the slice to the right of the slot and out of the way of the gage plate, as indicated in Fig. 3. It should be observed that the movement of the blade through the bread simulates very closely the movement of an ordinary bread knife when used in the usual way to slice bread; that is, the blade not only advances but slides longitudinally as it advances.

It should be I In order to make the structure more rigid, the post 1 is connected to the table by a diagonal brace 29, as indicated in Fig. 2.

The arms 6 and 7 may be considered to constitute a swinging frame carrying the knife.

Below the gage arm 16 I attach a block 30 to the post 1, which operates as a stop to limit the downward movement of the gage arm.

In order to facilitate setting up the device, I provide the table 2 thereof with openings 30 for screws or similar fastenings for securing the table to the top of an ordinarytable or shelf.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a bread slicer, in combination, a table adapted to support the loaf, a swinging frame, a knife carried thereby and adapted to pass through the loaf, a gage arm pivotally I mounted beneath the table, a gage plate carried by said arm, a spring tending to hold said gage arm in a depressed position, and a member carried by said swinging frame and adapted to engage said gage arm in an elevated position of said frame.

2. In a bread slicer, in combination, a table having a slit therein, a swinging frame, a knife carried by said frame and passing through said slit, a slot in said table adjacent to said slit, a gage arm pivotally mounted below said table, a gage plate carried by said arm and adapted to project upwardly through said slot, a spring tending to hold said gage arm in a depressed position, and a dog carried by swinging frame and adapted to engage said arm in an elevated position of said frame.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HENRY FRANK.

Witnesses SAMUEL FRANK, M. C. \VILLINGS. 

